http://newscenter.berkeley.edu News from the University of California, Berkeley Wed, 22 May 2013 23:00:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/02/26/garniss-curtis-pioneer-of-precision-fossil-dating-has-died-at-93garniss-curtis-pioneer-of-radioactive-dating-has-died-at-93/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/02/26/garniss-curtis-pioneer-of-precision-fossil-dating-has-died-at-93garniss-curtis-pioneer-of-radioactive-dating-has-died-at-93/#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:50:34 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34065 UC Berkeley geologist Garniss H. Curtis, a professor emeritus of earth and planetary science who pioneered the use of radioactive isotopes to date relatively young rocks, thereby providing the first solid timeline for human evolution, died Dec. 18 in Orinda, Calif., at the age of 93.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/02/26/garniss-curtis-pioneer-of-precision-fossil-dating-has-died-at-93garniss-curtis-pioneer-of-radioactive-dating-has-died-at-93/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/19/what-do-leeches-limpets-and-worms-have-in-common/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/19/what-do-leeches-limpets-and-worms-have-in-common/#comments Wed, 19 Dec 2012 18:00:51 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=33692 As much as one-third of marine life, including clams, octupuses and worms, fall into a group called the lophotrochozoa, ancient creatues that originated more than 500 million years ago. Berkeley's Daniel Rokhsar spearheaded a team that has now sequenced the genomes of 3 of these creatures, a limpet, a polychaete worm and a freshwater leech, to learn more about their evolution.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/12/19/what-do-leeches-limpets-and-worms-have-in-common/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/10/17/winged-robot-sheds-light-on-flight-evolution/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/10/17/winged-robot-sheds-light-on-flight-evolution/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:01:35 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=18083 When UC Berkeley engineers outfitted a six-legged robotic bug with wings in an effort to improve its mobility, they unexpectedly shed some light on the evolution of flight. The wings nearly doubled the running speed of the 25-gram robot. Find out why that wasn't good enough for takeoff.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/10/17/winged-robot-sheds-light-on-flight-evolution/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/06/28/patrick-kirch-awarded-gregory-medal-for-pacific-research/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/06/28/patrick-kirch-awarded-gregory-medal-for-pacific-research/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:44:55 +0000 Kathleen Maclay http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=13528 Patrick V. Kirch, a UC Berkeley professor of anthropology and integrative biology and an authority on the archaeology of the Pacific Islands, has been awarded the 2011 Herbert E. Gregory Medal for Distinguished Service to Science in the Pacific Region.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/06/28/patrick-kirch-awarded-gregory-medal-for-pacific-research/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/01/31/neurospora-genomes-reverse-ecology/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/01/31/neurospora-genomes-reverse-ecology/#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:01:35 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=5143 In a demonstration of "reverse-ecology," UC Berkeley biologists have shown that one can determine an organism's adaptive traits by looking first at its genome and checking for variations across a population. The study offers a powerful new tool in evolutionary genetics research, one that could be used to help monitor the effects of climate change and habitat destruction. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/01/31/neurospora-genomes-reverse-ecology/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/11/09/franklinmedal_lorealunesco/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/11/09/franklinmedal_lorealunesco/#comments Tue, 09 Nov 2010 21:11:12 +0000 Robert Sanders http://dev-newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=1165 Jillian Banfield, a biogeochemist and geomicrobiologist, will receive two prestigious awards for her groundbreaking work on how microbes alter rocks and interact with the natural world.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/11/09/franklinmedal_lorealunesco/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/10/29/zebrafish/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/10/29/zebrafish/#comments Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:18:11 +0000 Public Affairs http://dev-newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=1198 UC Berkeley neuroscientists have found that when zebrafish larvae see large objects, like leaves or other zebrafish, a large number of inhibitory nerve cells fire in the brain to tamp down a prey response. But when the larvae see small, prey-size objects, fewer inhibitory nerve cells fire and the fish quickly responds. This simple neural circuit helps explain the visual filters that enable prey capture. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/10/29/zebrafish/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/10/14/nuclear_size/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/10/14/nuclear_size/#comments Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:17:14 +0000 Robert Sanders http://dev-newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=1387 The size of a cell's nucleus varies from one species to another, in different cell types, and even with disease: many cancer cells develop larger nuclei as they become more malignant. Working with the African clawed frog, Rebecca Heald and Daniel Levy have discovered two proteins that control the size of the nucleus.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/10/14/nuclear_size/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/09/27/sclerotinia_spore_plumes/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/09/27/sclerotinia_spore_plumes/#comments Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:03:41 +0000 Robert Sanders http://dev-newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=1432 Many fungi, including the destructive Sclerotinia, spew thousands of spores at once to give the spores an extra boost into their host plants. UC Berkeley, Harvard and Cornell researchers now show how this works. The near-simultaneous ejection of spores reduces drag to nearly zero and creates a wind that carries some of the spores 20 times farther than a single spore could travel solo. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/09/27/sclerotinia_spore_plumes/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/09/20/brain_rhythm/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/09/20/brain_rhythm/#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:02:58 +0000 Sarah Yang http://dev-newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=1449 When it comes to conducting complex tasks, it turns out that the brain needs rhythm, according to UC Berkeley researchers. Neuroscientists have found that cortical rhythms, or oscillations, can effectively rally groups of neurons in widely dispersed regions of the brain to engage in coordinated activity, much like a conductor will summon up various sections of an orchestra in a symphony. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/09/20/brain_rhythm/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/08/05/spiny_frog_paini/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/08/05/spiny_frog_paini/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:39:32 +0000 Robert Sanders http://dev-newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=2433 The spiny frogs of Asia have hard, nubby spines on their chests and arms and Popeye-like forearms in order to securely grasp females during mating in swift-flowing streams. Kunming Institute of Zoology and UC Berkeley biologists have conducted a genetic analysis of 24 species of spiny frogs to track the rise of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau that led to their diversification.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/08/05/spiny_frog_paini/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/08/04/sponge_genome/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/08/04/sponge_genome/#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:44:29 +0000 Robert Sanders http://dev-newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=2439 A team of researchers led by Daniel Rokhsar has published a draft genome sequence of the sea sponge, an organism that wasn't recognizied as an animal until the 19th century. The genome gives insight into the origins of multicellular animals and cancer. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/08/04/sponge_genome/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/07/01/tibetan_genome/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/07/01/tibetan_genome/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:02:59 +0000 Robert Sanders http://dev-newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=2084 UC Berkeley's Rasmus Nielsen teamed up with Chinese researchers to compare the genomes of Tibetans living above 14,000 feet to Han Chinese living at essentially sea level. They found that within the last 3,000 years, Tibetans evolved genetic mutations in a number of genes having to do with how the body deals with oxygen, making it possible for Tibetans to thrive at high altitudes while their Han relatives cannot. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/07/01/tibetan_genome/feed/ 0